The Alexander Class Dreadnought

Several Geminiian's working for BuShips were concerned a bit by the name of the ship class as it wasn't Geminiian, however, after seeing the results of the Argonaut, they had no choice but to accept the name. Any remaining doubts were removed when they dug into the specifications and found out how powerful that class would be. Nonetheless, if they had known that the Alexander of the class name was a Terran all work would have come to a standstill.

The Alexander Class Dreadnought was the first Geminiian Ship Class not designed to enter an atmosphere, it was the first Geminiian Spaceship that was designed purely for Space Warfare. The Alexander Class Dreadnoughts were constructed at a hidden Space Station somewhere in Geminiian controlled space. While the Alexander Class used a lot of materials and processes unfamiliar to most spaceship construction workers, they still followed the Geminiian Policy of Modular Construction and Interchangeability.

Before he had become an Archon, Sean had 'sent' the specs for the Lynxian Space Navy's Cerama-Metallic Composite which formed the basis of the Spaceships Armour. Alexander and his crew had found a way to improve that armour. Sean, well actually Tommy with Sean's help, had also persuaded BuShips to use the same Quad-Metal Alloy that was used by The Flying Wing Aerospace Company's Delta Flier. By using that superalloy and adding the new Cerama-Metallic Composite Armour on top of that alloy, they had created a hull covering that was virtually indestructible.

But Tommy and BuShips didn't stop there, they had finally figured out how to completely redesign their energy shields and part of that redesign came about from the destruction caused by the mystery ships. The Geminiian Engineers and Scientists assigned to investigate the data that had been acquired came to the conclusion that the shields were destroyed by using two separate frequencies of energy weapons. They concluded that the green globe weapon used one frequency and that the weapon simply overwhelmed the energy shield weakening it enough that the blue globe weapon simply went through the weakened shield and destroyed the ship.

What they came up with was almost magic, the ships would create two separate shields powered by their own 'EGG' generator. Where the magical part came in was the fact that each shield consisted of several different layers. Each layer was a different frequency or harmonic, each layer was also segmented, so a hole in one portion of a shield wouldn't collapse the whole shield. The way the new shields worked, was that if one layer was punctured, the underlying layer of a different frequency/harmonic would then come into play. Since most energy weapons consisted only of a single frequency or harmonic, one of the layers would surely stop the beam. They were working on a way for the frequencies of each layer to be rotated on a changing algorithm.

Unlike most of the warships in space, the Alexander Class Dreadnoughts (ACD's) were built on a 3D model, unlike the usual 2D model which was based on wet navy ships. The ACD's offensive and defensive armaments were designed to provide complete 360-degree coverage. Although, the ACD's were designed as 'ships of the line' 'ships of the line' ("A ship of the line was a type of&#160;naval warship constructed from the 17th through to the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside firepower to bear.") with most of their offensive power in their broadsides. However, due to their curved hammerhead bows and sterns curved hammerhead bows and sterns (" Similar to the Scalloped Bonnethead Shark &#126; Scalloped bonnethead - Wikipedia &#126;<\/p>\r\n<p>https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Scalloped_bonnethead<\/p>\r\n<p>The scalloped bonnethead (Sphyrna corona) is a rare, little-known species of hammerhead shark, and part of the family Sphyrnidae. ") they also packed a powerful punch fore and aft. The bull-nosed edge of curved hammerhead bows and sterns. Provided a 270º firing arc for both their defensive and offensive energy/beam weapons.

The ACD's largest and sneakiest offensive punch was supplied by the four large rail launchers in the bow. The rail launchers, which ran half the length of the ship, were designed to fire kinetic weapons with no energy signature. The kinetic rods or spears were fired by magnetic induction and were very hard to track. They were a very sneaky long-range weapon, as they had a very, very small radar footprint. Unless they fired in a very large grouping, or you knew where and when they were coming from; they were virtually impossible to see and defend against.

The bow of the ship also contained several magnetic induction missile launching tubes including at least two oversized tubes nicknamed 'Planet Busting Tubes'. All of these tubes are designed to launch various types and sizes of missiles silently, that is with without any emission signatures. The missiles were launched, and they would proceed on a purely ballistic course, until if and or when they fired their propulsion systems.

This silent launching system coupled with the rail guns gives the ACD's the ability to launch a powerful, and fairly unstoppable surprise attack. This is even before they turn and present their broadside(s).

The number of overall missile tubes, point defense stations, and mix of energy/beam, and kinetic weapons is highly classified. However, there are a few things known about some of the energy/beam weapons, and some of the missile types as well. Several of the energy/beam weapons are equipped with a highly adaptive focusing system. The focusing system can change a wide beam down to a very focused narrow one; the narrow focusing significantly increases both the destructive power of that beam, it also substantially increases its range. Some of those same types of weapons are equipped with a different type of adaptive focusing system. This system instead of narrowing the focus, substantially widens the beam greatly, turning a powerful offensive weapon into an immensely powerful point defense and counter missile weapon. That focusing system allows those weapons to cover a wide swath of space, destroying kinetic weapons and missiles that the other point defense systems were unable to destroy.

The standard sized missiles could consist of standard contact warheads, ECM type warheads, and multiple warhead missiles. The so-called 'Planet Buster' or oversized missiles could consist of single shot close range energy/beam weapons, Advanced Reconnaissance and Reporting Drones (ARRD) as well as Advanced Missile Telemetry and Control Missiles (AMTCM). The AMTCM's were basically flying Missile Control Centers, they were able to change the flight path, detonation, and propulsion systems at a long distance from the ship that fired them. The AMTCM's were able to work autonomously or in conjunction with a the CIC from either the ship that fired them, a FAC or a Strike Fighter Model E. The AMTCM's gave the ACD's far more and far more detailed control over missiles in flight than any warship in space. [More Data will be available as it is declassified, or provided in a Top Secret Errata.]

Defensive Armament

Parasite Vessels

VIP Shuttles ~ 4

Assault Shuttles ~ Classified

Transport Shuttles ~ Classified

Strike Fighters

Model B and C's ~ Classified

Model E's ~ Classified

The ACDs are the first of the Dreadnought Class Warships in existence that carry parasite vessels other than the customary shuttles. The ability to carry Strike Fighters and Assault Shuttles allow the ACDs to not only fly their own CAP, the Assault Shuttles allow them to carry boarding parties, to board enemy ships as necessary. The Strike Fighters can also be launched on attack flights against smaller warships. The overall weapons mix on each ACD will depend upon which subclass the ship belongs to. There are three subclasses:

Standard

A mix of all weapons types

Designed for overall attacks

Independent Commands

Flagship

Energy

75% Energy Weapons

Close and Mid-Range Attacks

Missile

75% Missiles

Long Range Attacks

The ACD's FTL System is the first FTL System for the GSF~IF, it may be the first FTL System in the Geminiian Confederacy. The FTL System generates small 'Black Holes' in front of the ship which pull the ship forward at Classified Speeds. This is all the information that is available!

The 'Gravity Missile' which officially doesn't exist is the result of a brainstorming session between Patrick, Alex, and Tommy through the offices of A'lexii. Of course, that brainstorming session never existed as it is physically impossible by all the laws of the universe. The missile is of the 'Planet Buster' size and what it does is create a very small 'Black Hole' in front of the missile, when the 'Black Hole' contacts either a ship's shield or the ship itself, the destruction is massive. Each ACD carries only a very minuscule number of these non-existent weapons.

The Canister Type Kinetic Weapons would be reminiscent of the 16-inch Guns of the USS Iowa.